


Friendship to remember

by Nival_Vixen



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alive Talia Hale, Alpha Talia Hale, Angst and Feels, Children Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Claudia Stilinski Feels, Claudia Stilinski's Background, Claudia Stilinski's Death, Complete, Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski as Children, Derek and Stiles are the Same Age, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Stiles Stilinski's Name is Zbigniew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-02-12 01:23:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nival_Vixen/pseuds/Nival_Vixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claudia Stilinski and Talia Hale are best friends, and when Claudia finds out that she has frontotemporal dementia, there's only one thing Talia can do: offer her the bite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friendship to remember

**Author's Note:**

> Derek and Stiles are closer in age - Stiles is 5, Derek's 8.
> 
> Stiles is called Zbigniew (pronounced: Zbeeg-neef) throughout this story, as that's my canon name for his first name.

As soon as Claudia finds out that she has frontotemporal dementia, she goes straight to the Hale house. Claudia works on autopilot to get out of the Jeep and into the house, blank to Talia's worried look. Claudia realises that she's in shock when she is jolted back to the present by her son, crying in the playpen with Derek beside him, and discovers she hasn't heard a single word from Talia in the past ten minutes, let alone when she took hold of a cup of tea.

"Don't cry, Zbigniew, it's just a few building blocks," Talia murmurs, stroking his hair gently. "Derek, what have I told you about playing nice?"

"That I have to," Derek mutters reluctantly.

"Then be a good boy," she says, a little sternly.

Derek nods quickly, hanging his head as he offers Zbigniew the blue building block. Zbigniew stops crying with Talia's ministrations, and takes the offered block from Derek, happily returning to his stack of blue blocks.

"Thanks, Talia. I should call John," Claudia says, feeling ill at the prospect of telling her husband the news that she's going to die.

They're all going to die, obviously, but now? Now Claudia's going to die sooner than most, and she wants to cry at the injustice of it all. She wants to live, to see her son grow up, to grow old with her husband. Why should she be denied her life, her mind?

"Claudia, come with me," Talia murmurs, seeing that her friend has gone blank once more.

Claudia's numb as she lets Talia lead her out of the room; she's usually reluctant to leave her son alone - he's her baby boy; they'd tried for so long to get pregnant, and Zbigniew's a bit of a handful at times, but he's worth the months of agonising pain, and the aching head or feet (or both) at the end of the day. But now, Talia's hands are firm on her arm and small of her back, leading her through to the kitchen.

"Sit down, Claudia. I have something to tell you," Talia says, as serious as she's seen her friend in years.

Claudia doesn't faint when Talia shifts in front of her; one moment a human woman with a serious expression, the next a half-shifted werewolf with sharp teeth and long claws, and then a full grown wolf with red eyes. Claudia doesn't scream, doesn't grab Zbigniew and run, she just stares because this makes so much sense. She  _knew_  that Derek hadn't been dressed for Halloween that time in the grocery store! And the amount of people that just turn up at the Hale house without vehicles is ridiculous, but of course they run across state lines to get here. Claudia does get a little hysterical, laughs as she thinks of John being out on the freeway and catching one of these half-human, half-wolves on his speed camera.

Through her laughter and the onset of tears, Claudia realises that Talia's human again and hugging her warmly.

"It will be all right, Claudia. We'll get you through this," Talia murmurs softly, stroking her hair.

"Are you... Are you all wolves?" she asks, her hysterical laughter fading to hiccups now.

"My family is, yes. Peter's wife and Thomas are not, though; they're both human. Her current pregnancy is a little early to tell, but I believe he will be a werewolf," Talia adds, smiling gently.

She pulls down a glass from the cupboard, fills it with tap water and presses it into Claudia's hands. Between hiccups, Claudia drinks the whole glass in one long gulp, holding her breath. It seems to work, and she feels somewhat better afterwards, glancing back to the lounge room where the playpen is.

"They're fine, Claudia. Tell me more about this, is it treatable?" Talia asks, resting her hand on Claudia's, just as she has hundreds of times over the years, ever since Claudia came to Beacon Hills with her parents ten years ago.

Claudia tells her everything, from the disease and the brain scans she was shown, Zbigniew sitting in her lap, staring at the printouts with wide eyes that she knows understood more than he let on, to the fact that she's terrified she'll only have a few months left, that she'll be leaving John and Zbigniew alone. John's working hard to become Sheriff and has taken on so many cases to try to bring in more money that she hardly sees him anymore. All she has is Zbigniew, and until he starts school next year, she's all he has as well. He's shy, and they both know how hard it is for Zbigniew to make friends; he prefers to stay with her at the park bench rather than run around on the playground, and what will he do if she's no longer around? He'll withdraw even more, and she can't let that happen.

"Zbigniew has such a bright spark and a sharp mind; he needs to show it more often," Claudia says.

"Claudia, it's all right. If anything happens to you, I promise that I will look after him," Talia assures her, squeezing her hand lightly. "What are best friends for?" she adds with a broad smile.

Claudia's coming to her senses now, and nods briefly. "Your turn, Tal. Why are you telling me about werewolves now? It's been years; why spill the big secret now?"

"You're one of the few human friends I have, and I'm selfish enough to not want to lose you. You've told me everything about the frontotemporal dementia, and then some," she adds lightly, grinning again, "And since it will be fatal, I am allowed by our laws to offer you the bite."

Claudia stares for a moment, pushing her red hair back over one ear, and tries to understand exactly what it is Talia's offering her here.

"If the bite takes, it will cure you," Talia adds, seeing Claudia's expression.

"If? Just what kind of chance are we talking here?"

"At the moment? The chance is fifty-fifty. A few months down the track, it could be less. One of the highest factors depends on how quickly your condition takes hold."

"Doctors said it could be anywhere from 2 to 20 years; they really don't know much more than that," Claudia mutters, sighing heavily. "I'm going to have to tell John about this, no matter what choice I make."

"Of course; he shouldn't be kept in the dark about this. Just know that if you do accept, and the bite takes, you will need to stay with me until you can control yourself."

Claudia frowns slightly at that. "How exactly am I not going to be in control of myself?"

"You will need to find an anchor, something to steady the wolf inside of you. It can be common for newly-turned werewolves to hurt people around them, however unmeaningly, and I know that you wouldn't want to do anything you'd regret to John or Zbigniew."

"No, no, of course not. That makes sense... How long do I have to think about this?" Claudia asks.

"However long as you like. I'm not going to rush you into a decision, Claudia," Talia says, hugging her again.

Claudia sighs against her shoulder, hugging her friend in return. A cry of surprise from the playpen makes them pull apart, both mothers hurrying to see what their sons are doing.

Zbigniew has made a tower that's even taller than he is, and Derek's wide-eyed beside him, staring at the tower in awe. Zbigniew looks smug and proud of himself. Claudia laughs and scoops him up, hugging him firmly.

"Look at my smart boy. Why did you make it so high, Zbee?" Claudia asks curiously.

"So Derek can knock it over," Zbigniew says firmly as a five-year-old can, grinning broadly.

Derek looks excited at the prospect, turning to look up at his mother.

"All right, but you're picking them all up," Talia warns.

Derek lets out a whoop of joy and swipes the blocks down with a small roar, Zbigniew giggling in Claudia's arms. Claudia smiles, a little tightly, because she saw a flash of gold in Derek's eyes, and she knows what that means now. She understands why Derek's being homeschooled, and then the thought comes to her:  _what if he forgets his strength and hurts her son?_

Zbigniew squirms in her arms, struggling to be let down and back in the playpen, and Claudia tightens her hold slightly instead.

"Why don't you go home, get some rest, and think about my offer?" Talia suggests, scenting the worry and spike of fear from her friend easily.

It saddens her that it's there, but she certainly hopes that it's a temporary reaction, and once Claudia's thought about everything more, she will realise that there's really nothing to fear. Talia means that in every sense, not just her medical condition.

The Calaveras have reached an agreement with the Hales, and in turn, so have the Argents. The other hunters will follow their lead, and Talia hopes that the werewolves will follow hers. It's the dawn of a new era in human and werewolf relations, and Talia desperately wants her friend to be a part of it. Claudia's mind is as sharp as her son's, and while she's quick-witted and prone to sarcasm, Claudia often notices or knows things that others seem to miss. Talia hopes that she will accept, even as she watches Claudia drive back out to the main road. Behind her, Derek's carefully picking up the building blocks and putting them back in his large wooden toy box, a triskelion emblazoned on the side.

...

Claudia tells John when he gets home that night (or possibly early morning, she's stared at the clock for so long that it's no longer making sense), and he breaks down in her arms while she returns the favour and breaks down crying in his. They hold each other for the rest of the night, not talking or doing anything just yet, the plans can wait, the werewolf thing can wait, for now they just need each other.

In the morning, when John's sleeping soundly and Zbigniew's watching his beloved Saturday morning cartoons eagerly, Claudia goes to the bookcase and pulls out a few books: one on Polish folklore, the W book of the Encyclopaedia Britannica set she and John bought just to keep up with Zbigniew's questions (she knows more about male circumcision than she  _ever_  wanted to know), and another book of Grimm's fairy tales. The Excyclopaedia Britannica includes four paragraphs that are severely lacking in information, other than the fact that some stories claim people turned themselves into wolves by putting on a wolf skin, drinking water from a wolf's footprint, or rubbing a magic ointment on their bodies. (If there's an ointment instead of a bite, Claudia will take the ointment, thank you very much!)

She's a bit more sceptical about the claims on how to return a wolf to human form: removing the wolf skin, speaking the werewolf's real name, hitting the werewolf on the head, and making the sign of the cross. From what she saw of Talia's form, there was no way to take the skin off without actually skinning her (she shudders and feels sick at the thought). Claudia doubts they mean her human name, though she's heard of stories, even back in Poland, of people's names having power over them, so maybe that's correct? Hitting a werewolf on the head seems rather stupid honestly, especially if they're all as large as Talia's form was - she would be more worried about angering it! And making the sign of the cross is just a useless superstition because the Hales attend church fairly regularly. Sure, it's not every week as most people tend to do (Claudia doesn't go at all, and she's positive that the  _very_  religious woman that runs the deli scorns her for it), but it's enough to prove that theory false.

The Grimm's fairy tale depicts a gruesome wolf, salivating and hungering for human flesh, tricking innocent young girls and eating grandmothers. She puts it aside, and when her stomach's stopped churning, she finally takes up the book of [Polish folklore](http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/werewolf.html). The tales of the  _wilkołaks_  (Polish: werewolves) varied between men and women, young and old, but there seemed to be a common theme among all of the stories: they all became wolves due to a strap they wore, one that had been gifted by the devil. Though, to Claudia, it seemed that not every  _wilkołak_  was inherently evil because of this gifted strap. Some were herdsmen, some were wives, others kind old ladies; most of them just seemed to be living their lives and survive their day-to-day business.

"Mama, read to me?" Zbigniew asks, cartoons over for the morning, and intrigued as to what had captured his mother's attention.

Claudia nods with a warm smile, pulling her son up onto her lap. She reads one of the folklore tales in the book, unable to stop herself from transforming the  _wilkołak_  into a kind beast who was simply trying to hunt food for his family. Zbigniew loves it, clapping and begging for more, and Claudia can't deny her son anything. She turns the page and tells him another tale, this one without editing the story. Zbigniew pouts, shaking his head firmly.

"The other wolf's better!" he says hotly.

"You're not afraid of the other wolf now that you know what this wolf can do?" Claudia asks.

"No. They're not the same wolf," Stiles says with all the conviction a five-year-old can muster. "Another?" he asks, tilting his head back to look up at her.

Claudia smiles and nods, looking back to the book. She makes up stories about good wolves, and a few bad just for variety, until John stumbles downstairs an hour later, yawning widely. Until she sees the dark circles under John's eyes, Claudia almost forgot about the doctor's news, and she barely hold back from crying as Zbigniew clambers out of her lap to run over and hug his Pops ( _named after Coco Pops_ , John likes to joke, eyes crinkling at the side as he grins and laughs).

Claudia's breath catches in her throat as she watches John lift Zbigniew up, blowing a raspberry on his bared stomach to make him laugh wildly, and she knows right then and there that she can't leave her boys behind, she just  _can't_.

...

Despite her decision, Claudia waits to tell Talia. She wants more time to be herself, to be with her family, before she willingly exiles herself away.

Claudia visits Talia after each doctor's appointment, and they sit in the kitchen, tea going cold as she watches thick black lines travel up Talia's arms, draining the emotional and sometimes physical pain from her body.

In the playpen, Zbigniew and Derek build things with blocks, Lego bricks if they promise to pick up every single one (stepping on those things is painful no matter if it's a human or werewolf foot), and watch movies together quietly. Sometimes it's not as quiet as they'd like, Derek and Zbigniew arguing over their favourite superheroes,  _Star Wars_  characters (Claudia wonders if she should have waited until Zbigniew was older to show him those movies, but supposes it's a little late for second-guessing now), pizza toppings, the list goes on. Of course, their arguments only last as long as the next distraction, which Talia and Claudia usually orchestrates with food to settle them down (definitely  _not_  pizza).

Talia stays true to her word and never pushes for an answer, never makes her choose suddenly and on the spot, and before she knows it, a full year has passed since she found out about the Hale family secret. Claudia also realises that she still hasn't told John about it, and by now, she's not sure that she can or will. It sounds too unbelievable, especially without some sort of proof, and John is very much a 'seeing is believing' sort of man (not to say that's a bad thing, it simply means he's a realist and werewolves? They tend to fall heavily in the  _not real_  column).

Zbigniew starts school and is so excited to go that he almost forgets his Spiderman backpack. He's still shy and nervous, and doesn't make friends right away, but he seems to have fun watching the others in his class and telling Derek about them in earnest each time they meet.

Claudia starts to become forgetful in the evenings, her mind exhausted after her day of being awake and staying active, and the doctors tell her that she's deteriorating, faster than they would like or expect.  _Yeah, well, same goes for her too_.

She goes to the Hale house that afternoon to take Talia up on her offer, and Claudia doesn't understand  _why_  Talia's staring at her until she points out that she hasn't picked Zbigniew up from school. Talia lets Claudia stay in the house while she goes to pick him up, and Derek keeps her company, confused and upset at seeing Claudia crying. The minute Zbigniew's in the door, she pulls him close, apologising profusely over and over, words broken between English and Polish, while he stands there red-eyed and sniffling in her arms.

Talia agrees to bite her on the next full moon, five days away, and Claudia reluctantly books herself into the hospital for further testing. It probably won't help her, especially if the bite heals her, but it might provide help for others, and that is something Claudia feels that she has to do. Not everyone experiencing this will have the opportunity to be healed by a miracle werewolf bite, after all.

John takes the week off work and spends as much time with her and looking after Zbigniew as possible. Unfortunately, someone's out there killing people, chopping them in half, and John gets pulled back into work as there's a shortage of staff already. He hates that he can't be there for her, and Claudia can see that in his eyes every time he comes to visit, so she tries to smile and reassure him that it's fine, that they'll have all the time in the world because she'll get better soon. She knows she will. John just nods sadly, as if he knows otherwise, but Claudia's determined not to leave her boys,  _her family_ , behind.

Zbigniew spends more time at the hospital than at school, and when Claudia's awake, she spends time reading the book of folklore aloud to him, sometimes making up stories as she goes along. Sometimes she falls asleep, or Zbigniew does, and Claudia is woken up later by a nurse of the name Melissa. Claudia's grateful when she sees that Melissa has added an extra pudding cup to her tray, or she's brought in a pillow and blanket for Zbigniew, and she encourages the new nurse to stay and talk while she can.

That's how she learns about Melissa's son, Scott, and the fact that she and her FBI husband are down from Washington to help with the string of murders through Beacon County. They're not expecting to stay in Beacon Hills for very long - the FBI have rented a small house for them in the middle of town - but Scott's the same age that Zbigniew is, and was enrolled in the school soon after they arrived. It was a day after Claudia's admission into hospital, so her son hasn't had a chance to meet Scott yet. He sounds like a pleasant boy, and she hopes that they'll be able to stay and become friends.

The moon is full, and Zbigniew's curled up on the bed beside her, snoring gently. Talia arrives sooner than Claudia expected (she thought midnight, though in hindsight, isn't actually sure why she thought that in the first place), and smiles softly, taking her hand.

"Are you sure about this, Claudia?" Talia asks softly.

Where Talia is soft, Claudia is firm, and she nods.

"Positive, Tal. I'm not ready to leave this life behind," Claudia replies with a brief smile, looking down at her son and brushing his hair back gently.

Talia gives a nod in return, hugs her friend carefully, and moves Zbigniew to the armchair so swiftly he doesn't even wake. Then she returns to the bed, and presses a kiss to Claudia's forehead, as if reassuring them both that this will work. Then, with eyes glowing red and fangs elongated out of her mouth, Talia leans forward and bites Claudia's arm firmly. Claudia's eyes water in pain, and she cries out softly, trying not to alert the nurses or wake Zbigniew and most likely failing.

Talia holds a hand over her mouth, firm and still with red glowing eyes, and Claudia looks behind her to where Zbigniew's waking up. She stares at her son, wishing and willing for this to work, for him to not grow up without a mother, and bites her tongue to get past the pain she's feeling. Talia slowly removes her hand, and the red glow starts to fade from her eyes. Zbigniew scrambles up onto the bed beside Claudia, hugging her again and ignoring the fact that she's convulsing in pain, eyes wide as he tries to hug and hold her down all at once.

Talia's eyes widen, staring at the wound that isn't closing over - she knows how long it takes for her bite to take hold - and they both know that Claudia's not going to make it.

"Zbee? You listen to me, okay?" Claudia says, voice hardly a whisper as she tries to keep from shouting in pain; her blood feels like it's boiling inside of her.

"Okay, Mama," Zbigniew replies softly, looking up at her.

"I love you. I love you so much, and I'm very sorry, but I won't be here for much longer. I want you to go out and make friends, okay? As many or as little as you like, just have someone, all right?"

Zbigniew nods reluctantly, tears already tracking down his cheeks. "I don't want you to go, Mama."

"I don't want to go either, my lovely Zbigniew. But I must, and you mustn't be angry with me for it, because I promise that I am not going willingly. I want to stay here with you and your father very, very much," Claudia promises, and now she's crying, and so's Talia, and she wishes that this was different. "One more thing, Zbigniew: remember that the wolves are not to be feared. They can be good or bad, but if you can, do not fear them. They are just as human as they are wolves."

Zbigniew obviously seems a little confused as to why she's talking about one of their stories, but nods firmly anyway, sniffling and wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"Love you, Zbee. And your father. Tell him I love him and I'm sorry," Claudia says, and she has to stop to cough because her throat's getting too tight to breathe.

She feels Talia take her hand, and watches in the darkness as she slowly leaches her pain from her body, letting her drift towards death painlessly. It's a privilege that not all are afforded, and Claudia smiles at Talia as well.

"Thank you, Talia. Look after them, if you can. And don't be so afraid worried Derek going to high school; he's stronger than he looks."

"I know, Claudia, that's the whole point," Talia says, grinning a little, though it falls a moment later as Claudia wheezes and splutters.

"Love you," Claudia murmurs a final time, brushing her hand through Zbigniew's hair gently.

"Love you, Mama," Zbigniew cries, clinging to her.

Talia watches as the light fades from her best friend's eyes, and closes her eyes, a tear tracking down her cheek as she tries to hold herself together for Zbigniew's sake. She has to act quickly while he's still, and carefully slides a claw into his small neck, removing his memory of the Stilinskis and Hales being friends. The Argents are hunting down wolves across California, and while the Calaveras have retreated to Mexico, it doesn't mean they won't be back. Talia is certain that this is the only way to protect her best friend's family. She already did the same to John earlier, and he's out somewhere on the highway, trying to find a group of werewolf hunters with his limited human senses.

The other werewolf packs are beginning to get restless, and she just hopes that she will be able to stall the outright war this recent string of deaths has caused. Deucalion is arriving tomorrow to help come up with a plan, and she certainly hopes he will be able to see a solution where she cannot. For now, Talia can do no more than this for the Stilinski men, and keep watch on them from a distance, looking after them as she had promised Claudia. Tonight, Talia will run with her pack, mourn her best friend, and howl to the moon to remember the wonderful friendship she had with Claudia. It will not be enough, but Talia hopes that one day, she will be able to restore Zbigniew's memories so that he will remember too.

...

The end.

Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Tissue boxes are available on request.  
> Pitchforks are not.


End file.
